Best Cameras and Lenses for Fashion Blogs in 2017

Best Cameras and Lenses for Fashion Blogs in 2017

Great photography is a must for any successful fashion blogs. With so many options available in today’s market, it’s hard to decide what cameras and lenses you should get for your fashion blog. Today, I want to share a dummy guide to picking the best cameras and lenses for a fashion blog in 2017. I will explain various options based on my experience and provide picture examples to illustrate the differences.

The Best Point-and-Shoot Camera for Fashion Blogs in 2017

When you are shooting photos for a fashion blog, the number one feature you need is the ability to shoot in the aperture mode. To achieve a blurry background, you usually need a DSLR. However, in 2017, you can use a point-and-shoot camera to achieve a nice bokeh too, aka a blurry background.

If you don’t want to invest more than US$1000 in cameras and lenses for your fashion blog, Sony Cybershot RX100 V will be one to consider. Compact and multi-functional, this Sony Cybershot RX100 V is a point-and-shoot camera perfect for any serious fashion bloggers.

I love Sony Cybershot RX100V for fashion blogs due to many reasons:

Compact – This is the smallest camera you can find in 2017 that lets you shoot in the aperture mode. Weighing at just 0.6 pounds, this tiny Sony cybershot RX100V trumps all other DSLR’s that typically weigh about 4-5 pounds.

All-in-one lens – The built-in lens is suitable for both portrait and landscape shots. With a 24-70mm focal length, you can zoom in to snap a detailed shot and zoom out to get a good landscape shot. This lens also allows you to shoot at f1.8 to get a nice blurry background.

Aperture mode and Shutter-speed mode – Usually, point-and-shoot cameras don’t come with aperture mode or shutter-speed mode. This difference is the main reason why people usually opt for a DSLR for fashion blogs. However, in 2017, some point-and-shoot cameras let you shoot in aperture mode to achieve a blurry background.

RAW or JPEG – If you are going to edit your photos later, it’s very important to shoot your images in RAW. This is because RAW image format captures more details and data compared to JPEG. This point-and-shoot camera from Sony lets you shoot in both RAW and JPEG formats.

If I were to choose an all-in-one camera, I would recommend this Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 RII Digital Still Camera. Even though it is compact, it carries a full frame sensor and performs just like a high-end DSLR. Additionally, it also comes with a 35mm f2 lens, making it perfect for both landscape and portrait. Also, this camera shoots HD 1080i videos in case you have a youtube chanel. I think this camera is not only perfect for blogging but also for vlogging.

However, if you opt for flexibility over convenience, then you should consider a DSLR because you can interchange lenses. Read below!

The Best DSLR Camera for Fashion Blogs in 2017

When I was shopping for a DSLC camera for my fashion blog, I gravitated toward mirrorless and full-frame camera bodies.

What does ‘mirrorless’ mean?

Mirrorless DSLR camera bodies are less bulky and more compact than traditional DSLR camera bodies.

What does ‘full-frame’ mean?

“Full frame” refers to the camera’s sensor size. Typically, you are choosing between a crop sensor (APS-C) and a full frame sensor. The No.1 reasons photographers prefer a full frame sensor because of the higher resolution and the higher quality images.

Additionally, a full-frame sensor allows you to get more background. If I stand at the same location to shoot this picture using the same lens, I will get more background using a full-frame camera body compared to using a APS-C camera body:

With that being said, here are my camera recommendations for fashion blogs in 2017:

If you do a lot of event shooting such as fashion shows and wedding, Sony A9 is probably the best bet for your fashion blog. Because of the higher processing power and the better auto-focusing capability, this Sony A9 can do continuous shooting very well. Additionally, this camera is also very good for low-light shooting (night time shooting) and sport shooting as well. Personally, I don’t have a YouTube chanel. However, if you care about making a high quality video, Sony A9 offers 4K!

Best Camera Lenses for Fashion Blogs in 2017

Before diving in, you need to understand these two technical terms about lenses:

Focal Length

The focal length of a lens ranges from 16mm to 300mm+. Typically, the smaller the number is, the more background the lens can capture in a picture. In other words, you have to stand way further to get a full body picture with a 85mm lens than with a 35mm lens.

When choosing lenses for your fashion blog, make sure to pick a lens with a minimum focal length of 35mm. This is because a focal length shorter than 35mm will create distortion and make your body look disproportional.

However, if your camera body has a crop sensor, you need a shorter focal length to achieve the same result. For example, a 35mm lens on a crop sensor camera is equivalent to a 50mm lens on a full frame camera.

A prime lens has only one focal length, while a non-prime lens has a range of focal lengths. Personally, I only looked into prime lenses when I was shopping for my fashion blog because of higher quality images. However, if you are a travel blogger and want a flexible lens for both landscapes and portraits, then a non-prime lens is a good option because it lets you zoom in and out.

F-stop

To achieve a nice blurry background in all your fashion blog’s photos, you need a small f-stop. I recommend you to look for a f-stop that’s lower than f 2.0.

I bought a Sony 35mm f1.4 prime lens because the small f-stop gives a nice bokeh, while the 35 mm is suitable for both landscapes and portraits. If you are only getting one prime lens, I highly recommend getting this lens.

Picture Examples with Various Lenses

Shopping for lenses can be confusing. To be honest with you, when I shopped for camera lenses for my fashion blog, I researched a lot. But after reading so many articles, it was still difficult for me to grasp all the concept until I actually used and tried out all the different lenses. To help you decide which lense to get, here are some picture examples.

When I shot this picture, the photographer stood 3 feet away from me to achieve this full body image. However, if you are shooting with a 50mm lens, you will have to stand 5 feet away to get the same photo.

This lens has a f-stop of 1.4 and gives me a nice blurry background. However, as the focal length increases, the same f-stop will give you an even blurrier background. Don’t know what I meant? Let’s see another example:

I shot this picture with a 85mm f1.4 lens. Notice the difference? The blurry background with this lens appeared to be much smoother and buttery compared to the 35mm f1.4 lens. However, standing at 3 ft. away from me, the photography was only able to get my upper body.

If you are only getting one lens for your fashion blog, I do not recommend a 85mm lens because you have to stand so far away in order to get a full body shot.

I think 24mm f1.8 can make a good portrait lens if you know how to correct distortions. However, a 24mm lens is good for landscape photos, and I will not recommend this lens for fashion blogs.

Here are some pictures taken using Sony 24mm f1.8:

As you can see, these pictures accentuated the background more than the details of my outfits. If you have money to spare, I will say go for a 50mm f1.8 and a 24mm f1.8 camera lens combo for your fashion blog. But if you are investing in only one camera lens, I will suggest you to get a 35mm f1.4 or a 35mm 1.8 camera lens.

These are my recommended cameras and lenses for fashion blogs in 2017. I hope you find this post helpful! If you have any questions, please comment below!

If you are using it for just blogging/vlogging (portrait & full body), Sony A5100 is great and totally adequate. It is light, small, and cheap. However, since this has a crop censor, I would recommend purchasing a camera lens with a focal length of 35mm or less for full body shots. Hope this helps!

This was super helpful! Explaining an example after you used the technical terms helped things make sense for me plus the photos made it even clearer! Definitely bookmarking this for future reference and glad I stumbled on your blog, I’m trying to get into sustainable fashion but having a hard time letting go of fast fashion so I’m excited to start reading your blog!

Your post was amazing! I got inspired to get the Sony A7ii with the Zeiss 35mm 2.8 lens. However I think it’s a little bulky and heavy for me to carry around, and after using phone apps to edit photos, it doesn’t look that much different than taking it with my iphoneX. Would you recommend the Sony rx 100V as an alternative, and would you mind sharing more photos with that camera? Thanks